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I received some very sad news from Vince Howlett.  He told me that our friend Robert Barg (known on this forum as oldtransamdriver) passed away about a week and a half ago.  He relayed this message from Robert's friend Skip Jones...

"Robert passed away this morning (January 6).  He was never in pain, just went Home to our Lord peacefully.  He does not want a funeral. He does wish for his ashes to be spread on the Mission track (in B.C.).  Irene... thinks it would be good to have a memorial sometime.  We'll talk about that later.  We lost another good one.  So glad we both got to see him."

My prayers and condolences to Robert's family and friends upon his loss. He was a good man and I'm thankful for him sharing his time and knowledge with us here on the forum.

Robert Barg interview link... http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=7844.0;all

A bit of a promo video for the Historic Trans-Am cars at the 2020 Detroit Grand Prix.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NFGyCAqOdaAkf7VBTEwN4-wfLsFfO6l9/view

More info here: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/2019/11/26/detroit-grand-prix-2020-tickets-sale-motor-racing-palooza/4307096002/

I'm looking for a Mark Jones who lived in or around the Forest, Mississippi area in the mid-late 1970s. He bought a red '68 Z28 from California and I have paperwork, prior ownership history and other info. Not sure he still owns the car or still lives in that area but just looking to see if I can reunite this stuff with the car. The VIN is 124378L335611 .  Other search options 18L335611 and 8L335611

If anyone can help, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Here's a Chevrolet promotional item for the '67 Camaro and a letter from Chevrolet describing what it's about.  I've seen them on ebay quite a few times but the letter from Chevrolet is a nice item that completes the story.  Thanks to Dan Retting and also Mike Gibbons for sharing this with us.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Glenda Gephart, International Motor Racing Research Center
Director of Administration and Communications
607-535-9044; glenda@racingarchives.org

Judy Stropus
203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

Trans-Am Racing in the IMRRC Spotlight Oct. 22

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Oct. 3, 2016) – A panel of Trans-Am racing experts will speak about the series' 50-year history at the International Motor Racing Research Center on Oct. 22.

The talk, free and open to all, will be at 1 p.m. at the Racing Research Center at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen. It is sponsored by the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce and is part of the IMRRC's monthly Center Conversations series.

Listeners will hear Trans-Am stories from the perspective of drivers, crew chiefs and engineers.

Judy Stropus, who worked for several years as timer and scorer for Bud Moore Racing, the AMC Javelin team and Penske Racing's Trans-Am competition, and as a public relations representative for Chevrolet, will be the panel moderator.

"This talk will bring together the pioneers of the Trans-Am series from the technical side as well as drivers from the past and present," Stropus said. "The stories of the strategy that was used and the secrecy that existed in the early years to get that competitive edge should enthrall those in the audience.

"From the glory days when factory support was critical, to today's independent race teams, the history of this iconic series will be covered from all sides. It's a discussion that shouldn't be missed," she said.

The experiences of panel members will range from Trans-Am in its launch years, through the series' racing in the 1980s and '90s, the decline of the series in the early 2000s to today's revived competition.

Panel members:

-      Chuck Cantwell, whose roles in Trans-Am included chief engineer behind the 1960s Shelby GT350, Shelby Racing team manager and Penske crew chief for Mark Donohue.
-      John "Woody" Woodard, chief mechanic for Penske's Trans-Am cars.
-      Lee Dykstra, lead Trans-Am engineer at Kar Kraft, Ford's private research and development shop.
-      Don Cox, Chevrolet Research and Development engineer who became Penske Racing's chief engineer.
-      Tommy Kendall, four-time Trans-Am champion in the 1990s.
-      Butch Leitzinger, 2002 Trans-Am Rookie of the Year.

Amy Ruman, 2015 Trans-Am champion and the first woman to win a Trans-Am championship, is unable to attend the talk, but will be heard via a short filmed interview.

The Racing Research Center staff is planning special Trans-Am displays and will be showing films of vintage Trans-Am racing throughout the day.

The first race of the Trans-American Sedan Championship, quickly known simply as Trans-Am, was on March 25, 1966, a support race for the 12 Hours of Sebring (Fla.).

John Bishop, among the founders of the Racing Research Center and to whom the Center is dedicated, was executive director of the Sports Car Club of America when Trans-Am, SCCA's first pro-racing series, was created as a manufacturers' championship for modified racing sedans.

The series has evolved over the years and today is managed by the Trans-Am Race Co. and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. Competitors race in five classes. Four races remain on the 2016 13-race schedule.

The International Motor Racing Research Center, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, is an archival and research library dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the materials of motorsports history, of all series and all tracks, worldwide.

For more information about the Center and its work, visit the website www.racingarchives.org. The Center is also on Facebook and Twitter.

Seen at CA swap meet today. V0718ME stamp with G-10-8 casting date on 3914678 block. Owner (Jim) was asking $100. His cell number is (805) 431-6737

VIN search numbers: 124378N480303 , 124678N480303 , 8N480303

I saw a Penske Camaro replica at the MCACN car show in Chicago last weekend. It is one of the better replicas that I've seen and for good reason. It was built by Ron Fournier, who built the originals starting with the '68s.

Obviously not a Trans-Am car but a cool piece of Chevrolet racing history nonetheless. There is a great issue of HOT ROD magazine out right now featuring Tom's Z06 and the reinstallation of a Mk II Mystery Motor, which is how the car was originally raced at Daytona back in 1963. Lots of great history to read up on.

Also, for those hoping they could see it in person, Tom says it will be on display at the HOT ROD Magazine booth at SEMA next week. It is in CENTRAL HALL, Booth 22743 right across from Edelbrock. From what I understand HOT ROD will give you a free issue when you stop by and see the car.

Here is an ebay auction for an NOS proportioning valve used by many of the Trans-Am teams back in the day.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-69-Corvette-Heavy-Duty-Brake-Proportioning-Valve-/111614441141?hash=item19fcbd36b5

The asking price is probably higher than I have ever seen but the pictures from the ad are at least useful to give an idea of the original finishes. I have seen these valves located under the hood in the familiar location under the master cylinder and in other cases I have seen them mounted in the interior of the car.

Very sorry to get the sad news today. One of the most influential Camaro and Corvette guys there ever has been.

http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/corvette-racer-dick-guldstrand-1927-2015

Curious if the Z28 is still out there to match the VIN on this 302 block my friend has, 124378L326098

Here's an ebay auction for an NOS Hayden oil cooler kit. The same type of oil cooler used on the Dana sponsored Trans-Am Camaro driven by Dick Guldstrand.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-New-1960s-Hayden-High-Performance-Oil-Cooler-Kit-in-original-box-/131112982433?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e86f157a1


Photo by ebay seller ss396er


Dana Camaro at Sebring, March 1967 (Petersen Publishing photo)

Steve Holmes, who has posted here numerous times and who runs the excellent Roaring Season website, has introduced his new Muscle Car digital magazine as of December 4th. It is 100% on-line, not published in a hard copy. There are some very well done features in this issue, but perhaps most interesting to us would be the feature story on the '68 Penske Camaro currently owned by Tom McIntyre. Issue 1 is free to download, and is available here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.musclecardigitalmagazine.mcdmissue1

Excellent job as always, Steve.  I'm not sure how you find the time to do it all.

Bill Thomas Race Cars catalog, believed to be from 1965. Lots of neat stuff contained within. (Jon Mello Collection)

Here is a 1968 Stewart Warner catalog which has great information on what was available from SW at that time. (Jon Mello Collection)

Newton Equipment LTD makes a pretty nifty copy of the old Monza type racing gas caps that were originally made by Enots in Birmingham, England back in the day. These were often seen on Cobras and many other sports cars in the '50s and '60s. They were used on cars in the Trans-Am series as well until SCCA outlawed them for the '70 season. These new caps have the right look externally but have the nice safety feature of another "cap inside a cap" and you can even get a locking cap if you want. This was on one of the Trans-Am Mustangs at Monterey a couple of weeks ago.

Gorries Black Panther Camaro road test from the May '67 issue of Canada's Track & Traffic magazine, courtesy of Mike Scott (group/7).
The Black Panther package was available on any V-8 model, although I'm not sure about a convertible. There were even two '67 Z-28s
converted into Black Panthers. The car in the article is 427-powered although, for some odd reason, the engine shown is a small block.

Here is an article from the April '67 issue of Speed and Supercar magazine, courtesy of Robert Lodewyk. There is some
information in the article that is obviously wrong, such as the notion that the off-white cream color was the only color
available. Also, it was not a "Camaro Z-28 Super Sports", just simply a Camaro Z-28. Since this was a bi-monthly pub-
lication and it says the June issue was coming out March 23rd, I assume this "April" issue came out in late January '67.

Sig Hansen built a '68 Camaro for West Coast A/Sedan road racing back around 1970 and, luckily, the car still exists. This thread has been started so that Sig can fill us in on the history of the car as he knows it from back in the day. I've attached the only picture I have of Sig's car but we'll see if he might have some others that he can share.

Many thanks to Mike (group/7) for sharing his copy of the original Car & Driver "Blue Maxi" feature article with us.

Trans-Am racing icon Ronnie Kaplan passed away on Saturday 3/1/14 at 87 years old. I had the pleasure of meeting him in person at the Petersen Museum Trans-Am tribute a few years ago. What a wonderful and talented man he was. He will be missed. My condolences go out to the Kaplan family.

Nice feature from Super Chevy on the only Camaro that Vince Piggins owned, which happened to be owned
at that time by Vince's eldest daughter, Diane Sorensen. Interesting that Vince chose a '69 SS396. Anyone
out there know Diane Sorensen and know if she still has this car? It sure would be nice to talk with her and
hear some of the stories she has about her famous dad.








Jon Mello Collection

September 24, 1966 news tidbit in Competition Press & Autoweek indicates Chevy will build a suitable car to run in Group 2
(Trans-Am) and A-Sedan competition. Also interesting to note Firebird name had not yet been chosen for Pontiac's "F" body.
The 283 was the early engine choice but was soon ruled out in favor of a new 302 cubic inch displacement engine.


Jon Mello Collection

Many thanks to Delmar Evans for sharing his photos from the 1969 Laguna Seca Trans-Am with us. This first
batch of photos is from the practice session on the Saturday before the race.

A look at the short straight between the old turn 8 and turn 9. Turn 9 makes an acute LH turn onto the main straight and is just out of the photo on the mid-RH side.

Photo by Delmar Evans

A closer look at the paddock and pit area.

Photo by Delmar Evans

Scooter Patrick's Porsche 911

Photo by Delmar Evans

Jerry Grant in front of Ron Grable's #4.

Photo by Delmar Evans

Mark Donohue's Camaro heading down toward turn 8.

Photo by Delmar Evans

Peter Revson's Shelby team car.

Photo by Delmar Evans

Ron Grable ran the #3 Javelin earlier in the '69 season but switched to the #4 by the Laguna Seca race.

Photo by Delmar Evans

George Follmer's Bud Moore Boss Mustang.

Photo by Delmar Evans

Ed Leslie in the second Penske Camaro.

Photo by Delmar Evans

Mark Donohue coming down out of turn 7.

Photo by Delmar Evans

Ron Grable and Jerry Grant.

Photo by Delmar Evans

An old map of the original layout of the track, circa the 1969 race.

Jon Mello Collection

Pretty neat story about Jim Bowman's Camaro at the following link...
http://www.streetlegaltv.com/news/the-musclecar-place-podcast-jim-bowman-and-the-comeback-camaro/

Besides the article in print at that link, there is an audio podcast with more details about how Jim found the car
and eventually got it back. Not only did he get the car back but the original SCCA log book as well! It was entered
in the 1970 Riverside Trans-Am but did not make the race. Tune into the podcast to hear why.

Hopefully we might get Jim to share some more photos of the car and tell us more about the history. Jim also was
a crewman and later crew chief for Frank Search in the 1970s. Frank was a very accomplished racer from the SF/Bay
Area who also raced a '68 Camaro (as well as other cars).